MEDIA RELEASE: A temple experience evoked through Korean dance
Korean traditional dancer Jaehyun An is seen performing the Solo Monk Dance, a traditional Korean dance. She will perform at Asia House on 13 July as part of the Silence project. Image copyright: Hyunhui Lee
MEDIA RELEASE: A temple experience evoked through Korean dance
02 July 2015
LONDON UK: Asia House will welcome Paris-based Korean traditional dancer Jaehyun An and London-based Korean contemporary dancer Yong Min Cho for an all-day performance that will re-create a day in the temple.
The project, entitled Silence, will give participants the opportunity to explore the interrelationship between meditation, silence and sound. Dances will be performed at intervals throughout the day. Jaehyun An will perform both the traditional Korean Seungmu (Solo Monk Dance) and a Mandala dance. She will play the Korean drum at points throughout the Seungmu performance and will use metal cymbals during the Mandala dance. To fit the theme of silence, Yong Min Cho’s contemporary choreographed piece will be performed without music.
Jaehyun An said: “Seungmu is one of the most important and famous Korean dances. The costume and drumming comes from Buddhist ceremonies. Traditionally the dancer is female. She will wear a white flowing robe with long white sleeves and a white hood with a red sash and carry drumsticks hidden under the sleeves which she waves around to create a flowing movement and a sense of freedom.”
The dances will be accompanied by other aspects of Korean culture that represent peace, harmony and nature. These include a display of Korean tables which will be stacked to represent a pagoda and a display of Korean ceramics by artists Chang-Sook Lee, Se-Yong Lee, Jae-Jun Lee and Sung-Chul Kim.
Korean food artist Hyungsoo Yim will prepare cold pink tea and tofu for visitors after each performance. Pink tea, or omija cha, as it is known in Korea, is an aromatic beverage prepared with the berries of the Schisandra vine.
No phones or talking will be permitted throughout the performances to fully replicate the atmosphere of a temple. Yong Min Cho, who conceived the project, said he wants people to take 30 minutes out of their day to be silent and escape the hectic nature of everyday life. He said of the project “it is about expressing the beauty of all Korean arts and the depth of beauty of Korean culture and to remind us to be reflective in silence.”
Pamela Kember, Head of Arts and Learning at Asia House, said: “We’re thrilled to be welcoming Jaehyun An and Yong Min Cho to Asia House. Yong Min Cho’s vision to tie together traditional and contemporary Korean culture in a space that will re-create the temple in the midst of bustling central London is something completely different. It’s very exciting to have the project as part of this year’s summer cultural programme.”
The project has been kindly supported by the Korean Cultural Centre UK, Jung Mok (Buddhist priest), Gallery LVS and Art One Space.
Silence will be performed at Asia House from 12.00 – 20.00 on Monday 13 July 2015. Individual performance times are 12.30 – 13.00, 14.30 – 15.00, 16.30 – 17.00 and 19.00 – 19.30.
Tickets to the performances are free, however booking is required.
For press enquiries please contact Lucy Tomlinson on lucy.tomlinson@asiahouse.co.uk or 0207 307 5451.
ENDS
Asia House is a centre of expertise on Asia. Our mission is to bring the UK and Asia closer through our pioneering events on business, policy and politics, and arts and learning. We are the leading pan-Asian organisation in the UK, having built our reputation on our extensive network, our objectivity and our independence. Asia House is a non-profit, non-political organisation. Visit www.asiahouse.org for further information.
Yong Min Cho began his dance studies at the Italian dance theatre school founded by Paolo Grassi, Piccolo Teatro, in Milan. After three years training in Milan he moved to Venice to join the Academia Isola Danza, where he worked with the renowned American contemporary dance choreographer Carolyn Carlson and as a dancer at the Centro Teatrale di Ricerca Venezia. Since 2005, he has been living and working in London whilst touring in Italy and South Korea. During 2014 he was the choreographer-in-residence at Asia House London, and performed Bridging Colours White.
Jaehyun An is a Korean traditional dancer and choreographer. She graduated from Wonkwang University, South Korea. She has lived in France since 2007 where she has performed numerous times at the Korean Cultural Centre in Paris.
To book tickets for Silence click here.
To read interviews with Jaehyun An and Yong Min Cho about the Silence project click here.
To read more about Yong Min Cho and his previous residency at Asia House click here.
